(To volunteer for a shift at the CanPalNet literature table in the Social Justice Bazaar, any time between 11 am and 5 pm on Saturday or Sunday, send a message with preferred availability to webmaster@canpalnet.ca.)

City of Borders

Sun 12:00 pm Theatre 3

66 minutes 2009

Director: Yun Suh

City of Borders provides an original view of the vibrant underground community at the only gay bar in Jerusalem where people of different nationalities, religions, and sexual orientations create a sanctuary among people typically viewed as the “enemy.” This powerful and provocative documentary intimately portrays the daily lives of five Israeli and Palestinian patrons as they risk their lives challenging taboos and navigating the minefield of politics, religion, and discrimination to live and love openly.

Set against the construction of the separation wall between Israel and the Palestinian territories and the struggle for a gay pride parade in the Holy City, these five inter-woven stories reveal the contradictions and complexities in the struggle for acceptance. In observing the lives of the bar regulars, City of Borders explores the bond forged when people from warring worlds embrace the right to be accepted and belong, rather than being divided by their differences.

Occupation has No Future

Sun 1:15 pm Theatre 3

66 minutes 2009

Director: David Zlutnick

In the fall of 2009 a group of US veterans and war resisters traveled to Israel/Palestine to meet with their Israeli counterparts in an effort to strengthen connections and share experiences. Occupation Has No Future uses this trip as a lens to examine the occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, and explore the work of Israelis and Palestinians organizing against militarism and occupation. Through conversations with Israeli conscientious objectors, former soldiers, and Palestinians living under occupation, the film creates a survey of the atmosphere in the State of Israel and the West Bank.

This documentary looks at the partnership of the Israeli anti-militarist movement with a growing grassroots Palestinian campaign of civil disobedience, to defeat the occupation. Honest about the extremely daunting challenges, Occupation Has No Future ultimately tracks the hope of a growing number of Israelis and Palestinians to live together, free from occupation, in peace and with justice. This film is sponsored by Independent Jewish Voices.upheavalproductions.com

Enemy Alien

Sun 3:30 pm Theatre 3

82 minutes 2011

Konrad Aderer: director

Enemy Alien was the name of a 1975 National Film Board documentary, about the World War 2 internment of Japanese-Canadians. This Enemy Alien film is about a stateless Palestinian swept up with hundreds of other Muslims in the US, all victims of post-9/11 Islamophobia. It is the story of the stateless Farouk Abdel-Muhti, and the campaign to gain his release from imprisonment and torture. The filmmaker was struck by the parallels with the injustice inflicted upon his grandparents who were interned in a prison camp, simply because they were of Japanese origin. ‘Enemy alien’ then, ‘enemy alien’ now.

There are millions of stateless Palestinians. No one image incorporates them all. Does our mental image encapsulate the life and experience of Farouk Abdel Muhti, born in 1947, the year of the partition of historic Palestine? How does the pervasiveness of Islamophobia affect our image of the Palestinian struggle for justice? This film gives us an opportunity to explore these questions. This film is sponsored by CanPalNet.enemyalien.org

Israeli newspaper outlines Palestinian demands

Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird has been actively supporting the "unconditional" ceasefire proposed by Netanyahu and backed by Egypt. While it appears "humanitarian", an unconditional ceasefire would mean going back to the status quo before the recent hostilities and continuing Israel's punishing blockade of Gaza. But has Baird even considered what the Palestinians are asking for? It's actually quite reasonable.